Which all-star event is more exciting?

Las Vegas— Thon Maker got bumped and bounced around Monday in the Milwaukee Bucks' 85-81 loss to Memphis in NBA Summer League play.

But Bucks summer league coach Sean Sweeney said it was just what the 7-foot-1 Maker needed.

"I thought this was good experience for him," Sweeney said. "They have more physical, big guys and they put him in a lot of pick-and-roll action defensively. So it was good for him to experience guys constantly going to the offensive boards and also having to guard multiple pick-and-rolls.

"I thought he did a pretty good job. His communication got better as the game went along. He continued to fight and give as much effort as he could."

Maker looked impressive in the Bucks' first two summer league games, including a 17-point, 17-rebound performance against the D-League Select team on Sunday.

Against the Grizzlies the Bucks' first-round draft pick had as many points as fouls: 10. That's because players in summer league don't foul out until they accumulate 10, something that happened to Maker with 8.5 seconds left.

"It was just me playing two guys sometimes on defensive rebounds," Maker said. "I just need to pick one guy and box him out instead of playing two guys.

"Also, I've just got to learn to stay on the floor. They needed me on the glass so I had to stay on the floor. I've got to learn from it."

The Bucks were outrebounded, 43-24, with Maker and Terran Petteway each grabbing six rebounds. No other Milwaukee player had more than three.

D.J. Stephens, a dynamic dunker who played briefly for the Bucks during the 2013-'14 season, led Memphis with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Petteway, the former Nebraska star, paced the Bucks (1-2) with 21 points. Rashad Vaughn added 16 but was just 4 of 17 from the field and 2 of 11 from three-point range.

Two June draft picks, Wade Baldwin IV of Memphis and the Bucks' Malcolm Brogdon, waged a spirited battle at the point guard position.

Baldwin had 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, and he delivered the most sensational play of the game with a sweeping one-handed dunk over Bucks center Prince Ibeh.

Brogdon contributed 15 points and five assists while making 7 of 12 shots.

"I thought we went at it today; I thought we both played good games," Brogdon said.

Sweeney said Brogdon, the Bucks' second-round pick (36th overall), did a good job running the team.

"That was a good matchup," Sweeney said. "Malcolm had a very nice game in a number of ways. I thought his scoring was good. I liked the way he ran the team and tried to direct traffic and get guys to the right spots, especially as the game went on.

"As he gets more comfortable, he'll have the ability not to just be a player in the orchestra but be the conductor."

The Bucks will be off Tuesday but will be seeded for tournament play and resume summer league action on Wednesday.